


Just Like the Movies

by capitalnineteen



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Candlenights, F/M, Family, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 18:30:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17146865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capitalnineteen/pseuds/capitalnineteen
Summary: Life is never quite like the those Candlenights movies, is it? But it's still pretty good. Or maybe it's JUST like those movies but it's hard to tell when you're living (well, sorta living) through it.





	Just Like the Movies

Candlenights wasn’t something that Kravitz had participated in often. He was reasonably certain there had been celebrations when he was alive but they were dim and foggy memories like much of his life. But once he died, once he took employ with the Raven Queen? Candlenights was just a background event when nabbing a bounty, a reason said bounty tried to argue for amnesty.

He’d been in the Raven Queen’s service too long to hold those memories. Over time, details from his days as one of the living had slipped away or been discarded. Even when you are no longer alive and your memories aren’t subject to the workings of a physical brain, if you don’t access those memories they become harder to reach. Sometimes this is accidental: the name of his aunt’s dog was gone, then the fact that she had a dog, until eventually he forgot he had an aunt.

Music stayed but only because he continued to listen to music. His long ago aspirations to become a conductor stuck with him because he’d unconsciously find himself directing a particularly moving piece of music. He’d imagine how a piece would sound if he emphasized the violin section more. A recording of a concerto would become painful because he couldn’t stop hearing the delicate flute notes were slightly off tempo. That awareness held the memory.

So much else had vanished from his memory though. Candlenights, family, eating? Gone.

But sometimes memories come back.

Or you make fresh ones. Learn them anew.

It sounds charming, doesn’t it? It conjures images of smiling people, warm group around a fireplace while snow gathers outside the window. Or maybe that’s just the impression he’d gotten from two weeks of holiday movies with Taako. His boyfriend was a sucker for them. He’d start off making fun of the couples in the matching hideous sweaters. He’d boo and throw popcorn at the screen, make fun of the earnestness and sincerity. But by the end of the movie he’d invariably be tucked up tight against Kravitz, sniffling and blaming the cats for ‘allergies.’

So Candlenights with Taako’s weird accumulated family? Kravitz had probably developed some rather off target expectations. Understandable but then again, he’d met these people. He’d spent plenty of time around Magnus and Merle. He knew Lup, Barry, and Angus really well by now. Ren had been over for dinner at least a dozen times.

After a long night wrapping presents - and watching more of those holiday movies - they’d gone to bed with snow falling outside and a pile of beautifully wrapped gifts waiting to be hauled to Merle’s for the celebration.

When they woke up the snowdrifts had moved indoors. The cats, it seemed, didn’t appreciate wrapped boxes. Fragments of paper and ribbon and boxes and gifts are scattered over three rooms. They’ve destroyed the macarons, shredded lovingly chosen sweaters, and puked on the handmade quilt Taako had chosen for Ren to go in her new place. Pages from the books they’d chosen for Barry were scattered over the broken set of incredibly rare cooking spices Taako had picked out for Lup.

Even the selection of unusual wood - chunks of yellowy Butterwood, a delicately burled section of Purpleflame and a large piece of gleaming silver Ironheart intended for Magnus to challenging his carving skills - show distinct marks from claws and teeth. They can still give it all to him, of course. Likely his dogs have done worse and the damage would all be carved away.

But Taako takes one look, turns around, and goes back to bed.

“Just gonna sleep through, Krav. Get up next year and dump the whole mess on Susan’s doorstep. All her fault anyway. She ruined out cats, Kravitz. They never would have done this if they hadn’t picked up this kind of behavior from her.”

“Love, she’s fed the cats twice. How could she teach them…”

“I told you before! She scratched my favorite pan and ate the bananas I was saving for banana bread. No respect for belongings and they learn by example. Besides, you were dreading it. Now we don’t have to go.”

And okay, he had a bit of a point there. On both counts.

Still, they could clean up the mess, pull out the stone of farspeech and male a few calls, get a couple stores open and stock up on baskets of gourmet coffee or fancy chocolates, gift cards for anyone not interested in either of those things. But they don't want to bother some poor retail worker on Candlenights just because their cats chose to be a bunch of assholes.

It takes some doing to convince Taako to get up, get dressed, and go see his family empty-handed. Kravitz is pretty sure the thing that makes the difference is when he points out that Taako can blame the whole thing on Susan.

It doesn’t help that the beautiful drifts of snow that had been all but promised when they went to sleep had turned into a muddy slush as the weather turned unexpectedly warm. The ugly candlenights sweaters Taako had planned for them to wear had been ditched for lighter options. (For Taako this means a loosely tailored white shirt with artfully rumpled ruffles at the throat and sleeves that make him look like a debauched pirate. For Kravitz it means his typical suit.)

They arrive late. Taako had insisted on baking something first. Kravitz watches his boyfriend sweep in with a tray full of chocolate crumble coffee cake, already launching into the story of Candlenights cat destruction they’d awoken to.

Kravitz slips into the background. It’s not a big space and there’s not a lot of people here. But Kravitz has had hundreds of years experience slipping into the shadows. He’s no longer even aware that he does it. He’s still not use to social situations, not use to so many people around when he’s not in work mode. Taako’s enormous extended adopted family is sometimes overwhelming.

“Hey, Kravitz.”

He turns, sees Barry. The other reaper is standing holding two bottles of something hooked in his fingers and balanced under a plate of snacks.

“You looking to hide out already?”

“What? No, I…” he looks around and turns a bit guilty when he realizes what he’s been doing, skulking in the shadows. “Maybe a little,” he admits.

“Come on back here with us,” Barry says, moving towards a hall. “Just Lup and I back here.”

Kravitz looks over his shoulder and sees Taako holding court, sees Merle’s son running from his sister, crumbs and sprinkles trailing behind him as he crams an entire handful of cookies in his mouth.

“Sure.” And he follows.

Lup is in the study Merle has set up for Davenport to use whenever he is in town. Cap’n’port never stays in one place for long these days. It sounds like a good deal and she feels a little jealous.

He’d come to see them before he left, stopped to see everyone before setting sail. Her body hadn’t been ready yet and for a moment she’d been overwhelmed with the terrible thought that she’d never get to hug him, that something would happen to him before she saw him again. Barry had whispered to her, talked her through it. He’d had a lot of experience with rogue emotions in lich form in those lonely years.

She’s had a body for a few months now but it still whallops her sometimes, her years alone, Taako’s years alone, Barry’s years alone. They’re safe now. Happy. Together. But sometimes she gets thinking about how easy it would have been to never find each other again. Never have Taako know her, never have a body, never hug her family, never kiss her husband...

Like tonight, she’d been looking forward to this get together for weeks but then today she’d woken up feeling somehow bruised and nervous, not up to the large gathering at all. But Barry, bless him, had gotten them set up back here, the best compromise between coming and not coming.

Barry slips in with drinks and food for them and Kravitz in tow.

“Hey, Kravitz was hiding out so I invited him back.”

She appreciates the note of question in his voice, checking that she’s okay with it. She smiles at him, and winks to let him know it’s fine.

“It’s a lot, isn’t it?”

Kravitz smiles, looking nervous. It’s disarming how different he is when he drops his work persona. She wonders if there’s a third Kravitz that only Taako sees.

“Oh, if Taako’s here, did you grab any of his macarons?”

“They didn’t make it. We had a….cat-tastrophe.”

“Aw, dunk. I was looking forward to those.”

“You know Taako would make those for you anytime.”

“And I could make them myself, but party macarons are different. Half the fun is keeping them from someone else.”

Kravitz snorts a laugh and Lup grins, pleased.

By the time Taako comes hunting them, Lup is curled up beside Barry on the love seat and Kravitz has unbuttoned his jacket and vest, put up his feet on the low stool in front of the slightly undersized chair he’s set up in. They’re just chatting low and relaxed. Barry and Lup never get enough of Kravitz’s work stories and Kravitz is still getting accustomed to telling them.

Taako drapes himself across his boyfriend and sighs. “You guys missed all the drama.”

“That was kinda the point,” Barry says, rubbing his hand over Lup’s arm.

Lup stretches and shifts, snuggling in on Barry who unconsciously adjusts to help her get more comfortable. Across from them, Kravitz moves to help Taako settle in better. They adjust to one another wordlessly until he settles back against Kravitz’s chest. Kravitz toys idly with Taako’s hair and listens to his boyfriend describe the shenanigans that Mookie had gotten up to.

“Keep Mookie away from our cats, then,” Kravitz teases when Taako finishes. “Susan’s got nothing on him.”

“You speak the truth, bone man.”

The four of them sit together, companionably chatting between the four of them or quieter between each couple.

In the fireplace, the fire has nearly died out. Outside, the warm snap has disappeared and thick fluffy snowflakes have begun to fall. Kravitz nudges Taako and points at the window. Taako smiles and lets his eyes drift closed.

Kravitz has just begun to imagine this is the final scene in one of those holiday movies. It’s warm and pleasant and after hundreds of years on his own, forgetting life and gatherings and celebrations, he’s here with the man he loves warm in his arms and a new family that has adopted him.

The door opens and Merle comes in. He looks a bit like Santa with his full white beard and his red shirt, providing you don’t look too closely at the eyepatch, the wooden arm, or the bright pink birds patterned across the shirt. But he does come bearing gifts, though they’re in a beaten up cardboard box instead of a fancy red velvet sack.

“Dav sent everyone a little something,” he says as he pulls out little cloth bags and hands one to each of them. Then he pulls out his own and sits on the hearth to open it.

Kravitz is surprised to be included. He’s only met their Captain a couple times, barely exchanged a handful of words with him.

Each of them have the same thing - a small, hand sized bottle of liquor, each with a handwritten tag hanging from the neck.

On Kravitz’s, the note reads: “Have a drink and remember to feel alive. Even if you technically aren’t. Cheers, Davenport”

He tucks the bottle into his coat pocket, feeling oddly touched.

Beside Barry, Lup reads her note from the Captain. “Should you ever need a bit of space, there will always be room on my boat. Joyfully yours, Davenport”

Both Kravitz and Lup, two people who hadn’t felt like they belonged here on this Candlenights, suddenly realize there’s no where they belong more.

Merle turns and pokes the fire, stirring a bit of life back into the remaining embers. Then he leans against the brick, eyes drifting closed as he soaks in the heat. “You kids are welcome to stay as long as you want,” he tells them. “But I’m gonna head up to bed... “ he shifts, angling his back to warm the other side, “...in just a few… maybe.”

“You want to head home, Lup?” Barry asks.

She runs her hand over Barry’s denim clad leg. “Not just yet, babe.” She aims half closed eyes across to her brother and Kravitz and tilts up her chin. “You guys leaving?”

“Krav?” Taako asks, twisting his neck to look up at his boyfriend.

“I’m in no rush,” Kravitz says, shaking his head.

It’s nice here. With family.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Candlenights to @pixel-lightart on tumblr!


End file.
